Think Twice Before Leaving An Autistic, Epileptic, Intellectually Challenged Person Unsupervised While Bathing

Left: Connor Sparrowhawk an autistic, epileptic 18 year old with learning difficulties 

who drowned while suffering a seizure during an unsupervised bath in a UK care facility. 

Right: Connor Sparrowhawk's mother Sara Ryan who testified it never crossed 

her mind that her son would be left to bathe unsupervised

Combined photo from photos on Oxford Mail

A UK mother has testified during a tribunal review of a Doctor's responsibility,  and the role his performance might have played in the death of 18 year old Connor Sparrowhawk an 18 year old autistic, epileptic youth who drowned when he suffered a seizure while taking a bath unsupervised in a UK NHS care facility.  The linked article from Oxford Mail states that Connor Sparrowhawk also suffered from a learning disability.

The doctor involved has admitted 30 professional failures including obtaining his history of symptoms, failure to keep medical records etc. which apparently resulted in Connor's  unsupervised bathing.

Connor Sparrowhawk's mother, Sara Ryan,  is reported to have fought back tears as she testified:

"We just assumed he was being supervised in the bath. It was not something that came to my mind. It was almost one-to-one support on the unit.

"It had a whole team of specialist staff and there were five patients. It just never crossed my mind."

Our son suffers from severe Autism Disorder, profound Intellectual Disability and epileptic seizures including tonic clonic or grand mal seizures.  He has never been left to bathe on his own even prior to his first observed tonic clonic, epileptic seizure.  

When our Conor, now 21,  goes to the bath one of us is with him.   We do not want to lose him.

Adult Autism Care: It Is Time for NBers to Stop Hiding from Reality and Develop An Appropriate Autism Centre and Network - Part I

"Our greatest need at present is to develop services for adolescents and adults. What is needed is a range of residential and non-residential services and these services need to be staffed with behaviourally trained supervisors and therapists. In the past we have had the sad spectacle of individuals with autism being sent off to institutional settings such as the Campbellton psychiatric hospital, hospital wards, prisons, and even out of the country at enormous expense and without any gains to the individual, the family or the community.

"We need an enhanced group home system throughout the province in which homes would be linked directly to a major centre that could provide ongoing training, leadership and supervision. That major centre could also provide services for those who are mildly affected as well as permanent residential care and treatment for the most severely affected. Such a secure centre would not be based on a traditional "hospital" model but should, itself, be integrated into the community in a dynamic manner, possibly as part of a private residential development.The focus must be on education, positive living experiences, and individualized curricula. The key to success is properly trained professionals and staff." 

-NB Autism Expert Paul McDonnell, September, 2010 CBC Interview, (highlighting added for emphasis - HLD)

There is often a split between  higher functioning persons with autism and persons who require life long care, persons who can not advocate on their own behalf.   and persons who require life long care, persons who can not advocate on their own behalf.  I am the parent of a 21 year old with autism, "profound developmental delay"/intellectual disability. As a young child he was interviewed by someone from one of the community based organizations in NB but they decided they would not work with him ... as was their legal right. The reality though is that some with more severe characteristics require intense, expert care not available generally.  My son is one of those. ... As I age and eventually die he will require a very intense and expert level of care not easily found in the community. 

NB Needs an autism care and treatment network that would accommodate persons with autism in need of different levels of care with homes around the province near families and a centre in Fredericton, near our developing autism expertise, for those with the most severe care requirements. Well meaning people in NB have resisted exactly this type of network while looking the other way when adults with autism are sent out of the province to Spurwink Maine or to our Northern Bordhe split generally on adult care issues exists between higher functioning persons with autism and severely autistic adults who are in Campbellton at the Restigouche Psychiatric Hospital as far as possible from by far the greatest number of NB families.   The Community groups and persons who oppose an autism centre and network modeled on integrated, educational, professionally trained principles have no problem sending our most severely autistic individuals  to the hospital type institution they do despise in Campbellton NB as far away as possible from the vast majority of families who have provided them with care and who love them.

It is time for NBers to stop cowering in fear and yelling "no institutions, no institutions" whenever we discuss the long term care needs of all adult persons with autism.  It is time to take an honest look at the real needs of NBers with adults and build a network and centre integrated into communities, with a focus on education, positive living experiences and individualized curricula with properly trained professionals and staff as close to families as possible around the province of NB.